Five out of five in China!
David Higgins and Ieuan Thomas completed a full set of wins in the Chinese Rally Championship by winning the Longyou Rally today - and not only did they win the CRC section of the event, they were top finishers in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge too.
It was a hard weekend for the crew who love to win. They had been asked to hold back from pushing too hard by their WY rally team boss who had asked them to ignore setting fastest times on every stage to just concentrate on getting to the finish to pick up enough points to make them team champions.
“Day one was difficult,” says David. “For the first time all year our car developed a misfire, losing us time. But the team worked hard in service to change the suspension and turbo and make sure everything worked perfectly on leg two.”
Despite their problems on leg one David and Ieuan led the CRC and IRC by 44 seconds overnight.
“Leg two was trouble free. We just concentrated on keeping in front of the IRC and CRC. It would have been nice to try and catch Cody Crocker who won the event as part of his Asia Pacific Rally Championship campaign, but we lost too much time on the first day – and the team were making me try to ignore his times, although we did beat him on many stages.
“Ieuan has been ill throughout the rally as well which has not been very nice for him. He kept losing his voice but he still managed to get all of the pacenotes out perfectly as usual.”
David and Ieuan are believed to be the first people who have ever won all five rounds of the CRC. Although David cannot become Chinese champion because he is not Chinese, he has put the WY rally team firmly at the top of the points table.
He says, “Five wins from five events is fantastic for us and the team. It shows how good the team are all working, and it’s great to be part of such a good team. We’re just heading to prize giving now, and I’m glad I don’t have to rush to the airport on this occasion because I expect it will be a big celebration!”
When David and Ieuan return to the UK later this week they will turn their thoughts to Wales Rally GB where they will compete for British Rally Championship points in their Autotek Subaru Impreza.
It was a hard weekend for the crew who love to win. They had been asked to hold back from pushing too hard by their WY rally team boss who had asked them to ignore setting fastest times on every stage to just concentrate on getting to the finish to pick up enough points to make them team champions.
“Day one was difficult,” says David. “For the first time all year our car developed a misfire, losing us time. But the team worked hard in service to change the suspension and turbo and make sure everything worked perfectly on leg two.”
Despite their problems on leg one David and Ieuan led the CRC and IRC by 44 seconds overnight.
“Leg two was trouble free. We just concentrated on keeping in front of the IRC and CRC. It would have been nice to try and catch Cody Crocker who won the event as part of his Asia Pacific Rally Championship campaign, but we lost too much time on the first day – and the team were making me try to ignore his times, although we did beat him on many stages.
“Ieuan has been ill throughout the rally as well which has not been very nice for him. He kept losing his voice but he still managed to get all of the pacenotes out perfectly as usual.”
David and Ieuan are believed to be the first people who have ever won all five rounds of the CRC. Although David cannot become Chinese champion because he is not Chinese, he has put the WY rally team firmly at the top of the points table.
He says, “Five wins from five events is fantastic for us and the team. It shows how good the team are all working, and it’s great to be part of such a good team. We’re just heading to prize giving now, and I’m glad I don’t have to rush to the airport on this occasion because I expect it will be a big celebration!”
When David and Ieuan return to the UK later this week they will turn their thoughts to Wales Rally GB where they will compete for British Rally Championship points in their Autotek Subaru Impreza.
posted by David at
11:31
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